Mar 11, 2011

Scaccia Ragusana (Tomato and Cheese Pie)

Don't sweat the folding technique for this chewy, tomato and cheese pie. "The uglier your scaccia looks, the better it tastes," says Roberta Corradin, who gave us this recipe for Scaccia Ragusana. This recipe appeared in our March 2011 issue as a part of our special feature, Soul of Sicily.

Credit: Landon Nordeman

SERVES 10-12

3 1/2 cups durum wheat flour
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 bunch fresh basil
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
12 oz. caciocavallo or Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

1. Place flour in a large bowl and make a well in center; add 2 tbsp. oil, salt, and 1 1/4 cups water, and stir until a dough forms. Transfer dough to a floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 6–8 minutes. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and basil, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, to meld flavors, about 10 minutes. Discard basil, remove pan from heat, and set aside to let cool.

3. Heat oven to 500°. Transfer dough to a floured work surface, and using a rolling pin, roll dough into a 1/16″-thick rectangle. Arrange the dough so that the long sides are parallel to you. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce over dough in a thin layer and sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups cheese; season with salt and pepper. Fold left third of dough toward center, spread top with 1/4 cup sauce, and sprinkle with 5 tbsp. cheese; season with salt and pepper. Fold right third over center to meet left edge, and repeat with sauce, cheese, and salt and pepper. Fold in top and bottom so they meet in center; spread top with remaining sauce and cheese; season with salt and pepper. Fold top half over bottom half, like closing a book, and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400° and continue baking until dough is set and slightly charred, about 60–65 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing into squares and serving.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #136

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Ratings & Reviews (4)

by TUMINOMELISSA on 2011-08-31

I love scaccia!! I'm so excited to see that Saveur posted this recipe (and the other Sicilian recipes). My mother and father are both from Ragusa, Sicily. We don't have any form of written out recipe for scaccia. Everything is done by eye and taste. Plus to top it off when we make it, we make it for everyone. You know my 20 Italian cousins and oh and don't forget my aunts and uncles. I can't wait to make a small serving for my family. THANK YOU! :)

by TINICA on 2012-09-27

Ragusa was also the Venetian name for Dubrovnik - and this pie looks like several types of Dalmatian savory pies, such as the well-known salted sardine pie of Komi�a.

by CATERINA461 on 2012-12-01

I was really excited to find this, as I used to watch my Sicilian Grandmother make this when I was a child. The picture looked great, however, mine was a total disaster, and I consider myself a pretty experienced cook. I'm thinking the cooking directions were off, because when mine came out they were rock hard on the outside and raw on the inside. Completely unsalvageable, and that was a very sad waste of very expensive cheese and ingredients, not to mention labor. If only I had cooked it at a lower temp...

by rnelson on 2013-04-12

Ah, the vagaries of ovens...mine turned out perfectly cooked exactly at these temps.

It's like pasta and pizza said my guests, the texture. And the flavour just builds and builds, it's a LOT of pepper and salt.

And, it's a BLAST to make. Excellent.

Scaccia Ragusana (Tomato and Cheese Pie) 4 5 2 4